History Recap / ColumboS03E02

* AllForNothing: To keep control of the Carsini Winery, and keep Ric from selling it off to cut-rate winemakers The Marino Brothers, Adrian suffocates Ric in his wine cellar and disposes of his body as though it was a scuba accident. [[spoiler: Not only does he get caught by Columbo, but the method he used to kill Ric by shutting off the air conditioning to his wine cellar rather than just finishing him off with another blow to the head, not only tips off Columbo, as he was dehydrated and malnourished before death, quite unlike what a healthy eater like Ric would be before diving, that Ric was dead before he was in the water. Also, shutting off the air ruins Adrian's entire wine collection, (Save what he'd recently bought in New York,) due to a super hot day when Adrian was out of town, allowing the wine to overheat and oxidize. By the end of the episode, Adrian is en route to prison, and has lost his winery, and virtually his entire wine collection.]]

* BerserkButton: What drives Carsini over the edge is when his brother mocks him about how he's going to sell the vineyard to the Marino Brothers, a mass market wine company, but tells Adrian he'll be taken care of, and maybe the Marino Brothers will allow Carsini to "Lick the labels."
** Also, later, [[spoiler, the scene in the restaurant when he believes they've been served a glass of wine that is so oxidized from overheating he suggests it's been stored on the stove. It's a masterclass in acting from Pleasence. "An exciting meal has been RUINED by the presence of this...This...LIQUID FILTH!"

* ChairReveal: How Rick surprises his brother in his office.
* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: Columbo works out that Adrian left his brother to suffocate in his wine cellar through shutting off the air conditioning and sealing the room off by stealing a bottle of expensive wine and having it served at an apology meal for Adrian at an expensive restaurant. Since Adrian was on a trip in New York, he had no idea that one of the hottest days on record took place while he was gone. Due to the air conditioning being off, every bottle of expensive wine was heated by the ambient temperature in the room in excess of 150 degrees, so when Adrian loudly crows that the wine has spoiled, it gives Columbo the evidence he needs to explain how Ric was emaciated and died from suffocation before he was disposed of in the water.]]
* ChekhovsSkill: As Adrian is a wine connoisseur, he's able to pick up on subtle nuances in wine that others with less experience would miss. [[spoiler: This is eventually his undoing. Columbo suspects that Adrian locked his brother Ric in the wine cellar and left him there to suffocate, but can't find the proof, until he discovers one of the days Carsini was gone in New York was one of the hottest on record. He secretly has one of Adrian's private stock served to him at dinner, and while neither Columbo nor Karen notice anything off, Adrian immediately notices that the wine has been overheated and oxidized. This confirms Columbo's suspicion that Ric had to be locked in there, and that Adrian shut off the air conditioning to suffocate him, unwittingly ruining his entire private wine collection in the process. Adrian even lampshades this when Columbo comes to confront him with the evidence, and states he's one of the few people with a palate strong enough to be able to notice the wine was bad, and laughingly admits that his skill has sealed his fate.]]

* GracefulLoser: Adrian chuckles, compliments Columbo on his cleverness, and remarks that he's relieved now that he doesn't have to marry Karen. He also [[spoiler: readily agrees to make a full confession, adding that there's no remorse, only the feeling that a great weight has been lifted off his shoulders.]]

* JerkAss: Both Ric and Adrian. [[spoiler: Ric wastes his money on the high life and frequent failed marriages, and while the winery and land are his, and he only allows Adrian to run it because he wanted Adrian to make a profit for him, it's hard to feel sympathy when Ric tells him he's selling out to the Marino Brothers, and maybe they'll let Adrian, who's put his entire life into the winery for decades, lick the labels. Adrian is sympathetic to a point, but not only does he run the business into the ground by insisting on bottling wines few people will ever be able to afford to buy, he also frequently goes out and spends upwards of $5,000 a bottle or more on wines that he's solely keeping for himself in his wine collection. Also, Ric's latest intended bride seemed completely in love with Ric, and is completely destroyed when she discovers he's dead, and later, that he's been likely murdered. Still, thanks to Creator/DonaldPleasence's portrayal of Adrian, you end up having more sympathy for him than for Ric.]]

* LifesWorkRuined: Adrian murders Rick by leaving him bound in his wine vault and turning off the air conditioner so he suffocates. However, while he is away, there is an unexpectedly hot day that raises the temperature in the uncooled vault to the point where the wine oxidizes, destroying his priceless collection.

* MundaneSolution: Both Adrian and Columbo do this at separate occasions when guessing the type of wine they're tasting: Adrian places his guess down to the exact year and brand and when everyone is amazed by his accuracy, he tells them that he just sneaked a peek at the label when everyone else was too busy to notice, and Columbo narrows his guess down to 2 types of red wine, something that would be impressive for a complete amateur like he is, if he didn't already know that the Carsini wineyard only produces 3 types of red wine and it's not the type he tasted earlier.

* PhenotypeStereotype: Averted. Rick (full name Enrico Giuseppe Carsini) is of Italian ancestry, but doesn't look it, according to Columbo. His fiancée explains that the family comes from Milan.

* TooCleverByHalf: Adrian probably would've gotten away with his murder if he simply buried Rick in the woods or something rather than concocting the scuba diving ruse.
* WineIsClassy: The whole basis of Carsini's character. He views wine as SeriousBusiness. Also his motive for murder, as Rick is going to sell the vineyard to a mass marketing company, which offends Adrian the wine snob.

* PhyrricVictory: The scope of Adrian's efforts to keep his vineyard out of his greedy competitors' hands is an inverted version of this. On one hand, his murder eventually leads him to being discovered by Columbo. On the other hand, not only will his winery continue, but his arrest means he doesn't have to marry Karen against his will.

* BerserkButton: What drives Carsini over the edge is when his brother mocks him about how he's going to sell the vineyard to the Marino Brothers, a mass market wine company.

* CoolCar: A plot point. Columbo puzzles over why Rick, who supposedly went scuba diving, left the top down on his super-fancy convertible on a rainy day.

* GracefulLoser: Adrian chuckles, compliments Columbo on his cleverness, and remarks that he's relieved now that he doesn't have to marry Karen.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Rick plans to sell the vineyard to the Merino Brothers, known for making cheap but profitable wine. This is a clear allusion to Ernest and Julio Gallo, founders of a massive winery in southern California that was one of the first to market to the masses.

* PhyrricVictory: The scope of Adrian's efforts to keep his vineyard out of his greedy competitors' hands is an inverted version of this. On one hand, his murder eventually leads him to being discovered by Columbo. On the other hand, no only will his winery continue, but his arrest means he doesn't have to marry Karen against his will.

* SuperSenses: Adrian's rarified sense of taste is something of a plot point.

* NotSoDifferent: Rick criticizes Adrian for not focusing on profit, but he himself is a skilled amateur racing driver who refuses to go professional out of respect for the sport.

* CommonalityConnection: Adrian and Columbo initially bond over their Italian heritage, with Columbo making him laugh, and then as Columbo takes an interest in and educates himself about wine Adrian is more than happy to him develop as a fellow connoisseur. They seem to get along better than Adrian does with his fellow wine fans. Columbo, however, always keeps his eye on the prize throughout.

* IgnoredEnamoredUnderling: Karen had worked for Adrian for twelve years without revealing her feelings, but when she lies for him, he asks her why and she tells him she loves him. He's uncertain of his feelings for her in return, but he knows that he doesn't like someone having a hold on him. And then she tries to force him to marry her and he knows how he feels about ''that''.

* IgnoredEnamoredUnderling: We get a few hints that Karen may have feelings for Carsini before she outright tries to force him to marry her.

* LonelyAtTheTop: As the episode goes on, it becomes clear that Adrian's talent for wine has isolated him from others, even his fellow connoisseurs, to the point that when he recognizes Columbo's intellect and developing regard for win, he seems grateful to have a friend.

* BerserkButton: What drives Carsini over the edge is when his brother mocks him about how he's gong to sell the vineyard to the Marino Brothers, a mass market wine company.

* MundaneSolution: Both Adrian and Columbo do this at seperate occasions when guessing the type of wine they're tasting: Adrian places his guess down to the exact year and brand and when everyone is amazed by his accuracy, he tells them that he just sneaked a peek at the label when everyone else was too busy to notice, and Columbo narrows his guess down to 2 types of red wine, something that would be impressive for a complete amateur like he is, if he didn't already know that the Carsini wineyard only produces 3 types of red wine and it's not the type he tasted earlier.

Guest Starring: Donald Pleasence, Gary Conway, Julie Harris]

** Lampshaded as Carsini out and out asks Columbo why he's working this case when it wasn't a clear murder or even a clear suicide. (Columbo's answer: "I just go where they send me.")

** Lampshaded as Carsini out and out asks Columbo why he's working this case when it wasn't a clear murder or even a clear suicide.

Vintner and oenophile Adrian Carsini (Creator/DonaldPleasence) is about to be named man of the year by his fellow wine enthusiasts. Just before decanting a vintage claret with them, he goes to his office and encounters his brother Rick. The two brothers have never seen eye to eye; Adrian views wine as an art, whereas Rick sees it as merely a business and deplores his brother's high-minded amateurism and lack of business sense. He informs Adrian that he is getting married, and that he is going to sell the land on which the vineyard is built. Desperate to prevent this, Adrian knocks him out and drags him to his private wine cellar, where he ties him up and leaves him to die of suffocation and starvation. Meanwhile he and his private secretary Karen (Creator/JulieHarris) jet off to New York City for a series of vintage wine auctions. He returns and finds his brother dead, then dresses him in scuba gear and dumps him in the sea.

After a crash course on wine, Columbo uses his newfound knowledge to impress Carsini. He prevails on Carsini to give him a look at the wine cellar where his most expensive wines are stored. He asks whether someone could be locked inside, and Carsini insists that this is impossible, because it the door can be locked only from the outside. Columbo asks for a demonstration, and Carsini obliges by briefly locking him inside the cellar.

* TooCleverByHalf: Adrian probably gets away with it if he simply buries Rick in the woods or something rather than concocting the scuba diving ruse.

* LifesWorkRuined: Adrian murders Rick by leaving him bound in his wine vault and turning off the air conditioner so he suffocates. However, while he is away, there is an unexpectedly hot day that raises the temperature in the uncooled vault to the point where the wine oxidizes; destroying his priceless collection.

* PhenotypeStereotype: Averted. Rick (full name Enrico Giuseppe Carsini) is of Italian ancestry, but doesn't look it, according to Columbo. His fiancee explains that the family comes from Milan.

Episode: s3e2\\

* WineIsClassy: The whole basis of Carsini's character. He views wine as SeriousBusiness.

Vintner and oenophile Adrian Carsini (Donald Pleasence) is about to be named man of the year by his fellow wine enthusiasts. Just before decanting a vintage claret with them, he goes to his office and encounters his brother Rick. The two brothers have never seen eye to eye; Adrian views wine as an art, whereas Rick sees it as merely a business and deplores his brother's high-minded amateurism and lack of business sense. He informs Adrian that he is getting married, and that he is going to sell the land on which the vineyard is built. Desperate to prevent this, Adrian knocks him out and drags him to his private wine cellar, where he ties him up and leaves him to die of suffocation and starvation. Meanwhile he and his private secretary Karen (Julie Harris) jet off to New York City for a series of vintage wine auctions. He returns and finds his brother dead, then dresses him in scuba gear and dumps him in the sea.

* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: After she has lied to the police for him, Karen expects that Carsini marry her. The prospect of a forced marriage, along with the loss of his rare wines, is what leads him to confess so readily.